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As I look at it, the only players who deserve above a "C" are those performing better than expected. Votto is performing as I expected. Many (too many) are doing far worse than I expected. Perhaps unfairly, I graded on an expectation of a healthy season.
I had high hopes and expectations of a 100 win season, obviously naively so, but not many are dong better than I thought they would.

Re: Reds Grades so far...

Votto B
Phillips A-
Cozart C (had him at D, but his defense has been pretty sharp, Plus, I never expected much from him offensively anyway.)
Frazier D (he's struggling...bad)
Bruce B+
Choo A (he's done even more than I'd hoped for from him)
Paul B-
Heisey C (injury, but I like what he's done since coming back from the DL)
Robinson B-
Hanigan C
Mesoraco C
Hannahan B-
Itzturis B

Arroyo B+
Leake A (way, way better than I thought he'd be this year)
Latos A-
Cueto C (injury)
Bailey B+ (a bump up for getting the no-hitter. That's some impressive extra credit)

Re: Reds Grades so far...

Originally Posted by NebraskaRed

Votto B
Phillips A-
Cozart C (had him at D, but his defense has been pretty sharp, Plus, I never expected much from him offensively anyway.)
Frazier D (he's struggling...bad)
Bruce B+
Choo A (he's done even more than I'd hoped for from him)
Paul B-
Heisey C (injury, but I like what he's done since coming back from the DL)
Robinson B-
Hanigan C
Mesoraco C
Hannahan B-
Itzturis B

Arroyo B+
Leake A (way, way better than I thought he'd be this year)
Latos A-
Cueto C (injury)
Bailey B+ (a bump up for getting the no-hitter. That's some impressive extra credit)

Overall I would give the team a B. A decent grade, but I have a lot more concerns about the team now than when the year started. Marshall, Cueto and especially Ludwick coming back and playing like it was 2012 would cure almost all my concerns.

Re: Reds Grades so far...

Votto C
Phillips B+
Cozart C- Only his defense keeps him this high
Frazier D Oof. Might we have overestimated his ability?
Bruce B+
Choo A Can't really ask for more than he's done
Paul B
Heisey C (injury, but I like what he's done since coming back from the DL)
Robinson B-
Hanigan D
Mesoraco D He simply isn't progressing like I had hoped
Hannahan D I knew he was mostly a glove, but oof, NO power at the plate at all
Itzturis C I didn't have hopes for him, so he hasn't disappointed

Re: Reds Grades so far...

As a teacher, I have to say that I think some of you are grading these players with different curves based on their individual talent. If Votto were any other player, he'd have a MUCH easier time on this thread, obviously, but that doesn't work when you are giving out class grades for a group project. IMO each student has to be rated relative to his/her peers and to the league.

So, if we are judging each of them in relation to their contribution to this team's winning, I would rate them thus:

Likes:

Re: Reds Grades so far...

The premise of this thread was based on our expectations. If you expected this team to be a 95 win power, your expectations about some individual performances were probably pretty high. Wouldn't that mean fulfilling them would just be a C? So with that in mind the overall team grade would be about a C-/D+:

Votto C- (He's great but I expected a higher slugging percentage)
Phillips C- (97 OPS+ is below my expectations, his amazing defense is only as expected)
Cozart D+ (Expected a .300 OBP and a .700 OPS. He's below that)
Frazier C+ (He's about as expected offensively, his defense is a nice surprise)
Luwick F (Not his fault but I expected a clean-up hitter)
Choo B+ (I expected an .850 or so OPS and now he's at .893, He's not been as terrible in CF as many feared he would be)
Bruce C (expected a tad more offense, but his defense is better than I expected)
Hanigan F (injured and ineffective)
Mesoraco F (He's about .100 OPS points below my expectations)
Paul B (Expected him to turn into a pumpkin, he still may)
Heisey F (Injury and poor hitting)
Robinson A (Expected a crummy AAA OF, he's been an acceptable 25th man)
Izturis C (Expected a back-up IF that can play SS and not hit much. He's been exactly that)
Hannahan D (Expected a lefty bat who would do well against RHP in a limited role. He hasn't hit much at all)

Latos C (Expected a strong number 2 starter and he's been that)
Bailey C- (Expected a step up to borderline Ace, He's a cut below that)
Cueto D (Expected a step back and some missed time, but not this much missed time, he's been better than I expected when he's been out there which staved off the F grade)
Arroyo B (Expected a solid inning eater with 4th starter effectiveness. He's been more effective than that)
Leake A+ (Expected the same as Arroyo, he's been a stud so far)
Cingrani B+ (Expected a minor leaguer, he's been a savior with Cueto out but he's showing kinks in the armor lately preventing an A)
Chapman C- (Expected same as last year, he's stepped back a bit)
Broxton F (Missed a ton of time and has been pretty iffy when out there)
Marshall F (Expected the best lefty set-up man in the league, he's pitched 7 innings)
Hoover C (I was hoping for more, but he's OK I guess)
Simon B+ (Expected a 12th man with poor stats, he's been pretty good)
Lecure A- (Expected a step forward, but he's been the team's best reliever IMO)
Parra C (I actually expected a competent LOOGY, he's been better and more than that after a rough start and injury)
Ondrusek C (Expected 12th man who struggls and he's been that)
Partch B (Didn't expect him to be ready to even appear in a major league game until 2014. He's been a 12th man type who has shown some flashes for the future)

"All I can tell them is pick a good one and sock it." --BABE RUTH

Having better players makes "the right time" or "the big hit" happen a lot more often. PLUS PLUS

Re: Reds Grades so far...

Very surprised you guys are so down on Cozart. I would have gone around B+. He has been an average shortstop offensively and exceptional in the field. What did we expect from him? It's not his fault he bats 2nd.

I also don't think anybody should be giving Leake or Cingrani less than an A. These guys have broken out in a way nobody could have expected.

I'm not willing to give Broxton a pass just due to injury. He was a liability when healthy and I had high expectations for him after last year. Could probably make the exact same case against Hanigan, but it's hard to quantify if he's still making up for it defensively.

As I look at it, the only players who deserve above a "C" are those performing better than expected. Votto is performing as I expected. Many (too many) are doing far worse than I expected. Perhaps unfairly, I graded on an expectation of a healthy season.
I had high hopes and expectations of a 100 win season, obviously naively so, but not many are dong better than I thought they would.

I will give Ludwick an incomplete.

Lol....how are you to know what I expected from each player? Lol What you expect from Frazier at the ASB? 18 Hr/70 RBI .290/.360/.925

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